Page 47 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Understanding Higher Math

needed some information for a presentation by noon.
He said, “Here’s what I need. I’m filling out a

spreadsheet, and I need your projected sales, by cus-
tomer and by product, for the years 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, and 2007.”

I heard him ask the question, but I thought he was
joking. I explained to the young analyst that there was
no way I could possibly know what product was
going to sell three years from now or what client
would purchase that product three years from now. I

told him that any such number would be meaningless.
His response was, “Look, I need a number for my
23
spreadsheet.” =

I reiterated the number would be nothing more than
a wild guess. He said he did not care whether it was a
guess or not. He needed a number.
It dawned on me that day: it was not even 8 a.m.,
and something terrible had happened. The majority

owner was no longer motivated by a desire to help
team members and clients realize their potential.
In 48 hours, the conversation had turned from

meaningful relationships to meaningless numbers.
It is precisely this philosophy that has created the
many documented failures in corporate America—the
staggering number of organizations that fail within ten